Building off the success of Obama's "My Brother's Keeper" initiative, Mayor Walsh and The Boston Foundation have partnered up to create a mini grant program to benefit Black and Latino boys in the city.

Yet another effort to address the upstream causes of poor health is underway, in Boston. This time, the focus is on the addressing the negative health effects of a lack of stable and affordable housing on children.

The Boston Foundation hired someone new to take over its arts funding program. The 36-year-old is Chicago through and through, but she now shifts her attention to Boston to take up her post as TBF’s new director.

Boston foundations pooled their money last winter to help residents fill their bellies and heat their homes. What are they doing this year during a winter that's seen four blizzards and over seven feet of precipitation?

More low-income families now live in suburbs, including in Boston, where a new partnership aims to boost student achievement, in part, by reducing disruption as families move around in search of affordable housing.

While we've written a ton about what funders are doing to fight childhood obesity, we've never seen an effort starting this early in the life cycle. As well, the range of players involved is pretty interesting.

With kids out of the classroom and violent crime rates on the rise, summertime is perhaps the most important time for urban grantmaking. My Summer in the City is an initiative in Boston that's attracting a growing number of funders.

The Vision Fund is not a new initiative, but it’s one that many grantseekers haven’t heard about. This TBF program emphasizes boosting the capacity and impact of local nonprofits. What's not to like about that?

A 2008 study found that while graduates of Boston Public Schools had some of the highest college enrollment rates in the country, a below-average 35.5 percent of those students earned a degree within seven years. Thus began a concerted effort to get that number up. The Boston Foundation just gave close to $1 million to seven groups as part of the initiative.

Funders are involved in so many fancy schmancy initiatives nowadays, that it can be hard to remember the role that many play in helping human beings meet their most basic needs: food, shelter, warmth. But that role proved crucial in recent months as a brutal winter went on and on, with a number of foundations stepping up their giving for human needs.

The Boston Foundation announced the winners of the 2013 Brother Thomas Fellowships, which are $15,000 “no strings attached” awards to support artists during critical points in their careers. The one thing that ties them (and Brother Thomas) together is their relationship to Boston.

Given the dismal state of education in Boston these days, charter schools might be the best hope for the city's future. The Boston Foundation recently announced a partnership with individual philanthropist, Robert Pozen, which will provide a $80,000 annual award to Boston's best charter school.